Day At Sea

December 9, 2011December 15, 2011Leave a comment

Today we were at sea on our way to our last stop.

We had the sit down breakfast in the morning, and a Galley Tour in the afternoon.

Afterwards we had the sit down lunch. There was a line for the Chocolate Extravaganza, so Gary and I went to our room to read and relax or napped. Later, we went to the Lido and got a few things from the Chocolate Extravaganza before it ended.

We had a couple photo shoots before the elegant evening sit down dinner, afterwards saw a Beatles tribute show that was really well done. I think it was my favourite show of the trip.

Stop 2: Antiqua

December 7, 2011December 15, 2011Leave a comment

Today in Antigua, Gary and I went on the ‘Catamaran, Sail, and Snorkel’ excursion. My dad was having a bit of trouble walking, so my parents didn’t go.

We had a short walk to the catamaran from the ship where we had a tour of the area (picture above on the left). The picture above on the right is of a fort. the second down on the right was the private beach we got to swim at for about 30 minutes after the snorkeling, and the bottom right picture was a rainbow that we saw on the way back to our ship.

some photos I took when snorkeling

Tonight, my parents got the bunny/dog on the left, and Gary and I got the bunny with a crab face -lol

Stop 1: St. Thomas

December 6, 2011February 14, 2012Leave a comment

We learned later from other cruisers, that our trip originally had Puerto Rico as the first top but it was removed, so that’s why we had 2 days at sea instead.

The boat arrived at St. Thomas in the morning. We Got up around 8:30/9:00 and had breakfast. The gangway opened at 10:00, so we planned on leaving at 10:30 to avoid the rush, but they announced that they were going to test the elevators at 10:20 for a few minutes, but it lasted until 11:10, so we finally left after that.

We got outside and took a taxi/open van ride with other cruise members. It was $4 per person, which is the standard rate set by the government, which wasn’t bad. The drive was about 15 minutes into the main part of town where we walked around a bit, looked at some of the shops, etc for a couple of hours. Then we took a taxi/van back to the ship and had lunch on the Lido deck.

Gary went back to the room to read and rest, my dad wanted to explore the ship, and my mom and I went back out to check out the shops that were right outside of the boat in easy walking distance.

My mom spotted this neat flower planter that looked like a big wicker basket.

Afterwards we went back to the ship and I took a nap.

After dinner we went to the ‘MoTown Show’ with Marcus Anthony who has worked with the Supremes, opened for Patty LaBelle and some other musicians. His Website: http://www.themusicandthemaddness.com/

The towel animals for the evening . . . my parents had gotten a piggy towel animal. Gary and I got a different kind of elephant than my parents the other night that was sitting on the top of our couch.

At Sea, Day 2

December 5, 2011December 15, 2011Leave a comment

Today we mostly relaxed and read. My mom and I Got massages and facials, and then in the evening, we saw the ‘Jump Jive, and Wail’ show with 1920’s music and dance.

We had a nice sit down dinner, and then my parents retire for the evening am Gary and I saw 2 comedians, one of which was Marc Theobald again (different show) and then bed time for us.

(updated with towel animal pic)

Tonights towel animal was an ephalent

Cruise Tips

December 3, 2011February 14, 2012Leave a comment

We went on an 8 day cruise to the Caribbean. Our 3rd cruise total, our 2nd with Carnival.
The first was to places in the Western Caribbean on the Carnival Valor, this one was to the Eastern on the Carnival Freedom.

I love the service on the cruises, your room gets cleaned in the morning, and then they clean your room and have a turn down service in the evening when you go to dinner which includes towel animals! Everyone is so friendly, and the food is so great, especially the sit down dinners, and there is no limit. If you don’t like something, you can send it back and get something else. The entertainment is fun and the shows are professional, there is always something to do (or not do).

I will be posting about our trip with photos, but here are a few tips I thought of on cruising on this trip:

Bring stamps, there is a Postal Box on board ship in the lobby (3rd floor)
Water, tea, lemonade, hot tea, and coffee are free, but if you like sodas or juices, it’s worth getting the ‘Bottomless Bubbles’ card. You get unlimited sodas and juices . . . if you use it twice per day, it pays for itself, otherwise you pay for drinks each time. It does not give you unlimited alcoholic drinks though.
Sit down breakfasts and lunches are a great way to meet new people
For girls, bring a wristlet – all you need on the boat is your ‘Sail and Sign’ Card which is your room key and what you use to buy anything on the ship, and your credit card (for locking the room safe). Leave the wallet and the cash in your room safe. I also brought my point and shoot camera with me (of course) ^^
Bring some sort of anti-seasick pills
Don’t forget about the Medical center on deck 0 if you do forget your seasick pills. They were about $3 per packet versus
Get a room with a balcony or at least a window. The balcony is great for the view without having to go up on deck, to sit and read or get some fresh air when at sea, to get pictures from your balcony after docking, and for seeing when its day time or night time.
Room Service is free! Don’t use the room service card for breakfast, just call the room service number when you want food, it will arrive in 15-30 minutes and is the freshest/hottest. It’s also 24 hours and included, so why not get spoiled 🙂
Go to the shows, they are fun and are really well done.
You might want to bring a waterproof camera (if you have one, or get a disposable one) if you are going snorkeling or swimming.

That’s all I can think of right now. I’ll update if I can think of anything else ^^